Pure fruit, more texture, greater structure, versatility and pushed boundaries is what Chenin Blanc is all about. True to form, that is what the Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge uncovered at this third successive competition.

SNews of the Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge winners for
2018, featuring five newcomers and five regulars, comes in the wake of
unprecedented optimism in the grape variety.

“Chenin has come of
age,” said chairman of the Chenin Blanc Association, Ken Forrester. “No
longer just a niche grape loved by of the wine fraternity, it is
acquiring a mainstream following. More and more people are believing in
it, buying it, drinking it and talking about it,” he said referring to
the record number of entries in this year’s challenge, the growth in
sales of Chenin Blanc this year, and the global reach of a recent social
media campaign.

He said this year’s 159 submissions represented
an increase of 17% on the 2017 challenge entry numbers, while
year-on-year, local sales and exports of Chenin Blanc varietal wines are
on the rise. Forrester also highlighted the success of the #DrinkChenin
day social media campaign to mark June 15 as International Chenin Day
that generated 4.9 million impressions.

“The versatility of
Chenin, its diversity of wine styles and its great food-friendliness,
all point towards its rising acceptance among local consumers. This is
in line with the growing international interest in the grape,
increasingly seen abroad as South Africa’s calling card.”

South
Africa has more Chenin Blanc under vine than any other country in the
world.

The challenge drew 113 wooded and 46 unwooded entries, all
tasted blind by the five-member panel, with 27 wines shortlisted for the
final top ten line-up.

Cathy van Zyl MW, the chairman of the
judges, said that the winning wines were largely but not exclusively
sourced from older vineyards. “While one of the winners comes from
12-year old vines, the others come from vines that are older than 27
years. Indeed, the oldest vineyard in the line-up is 65-years’ old.”

Fruit for the winning wines was sourced from as far afield as the
Cederberg, Stellenbosch including Bottelary and Faure, Darling, Elgin,
Durbanville, the Swartland, specifically Voor-Paardeberg, Perdeberg,
Malmesbury, Tygerberg, Slanghoek, Wellington and Bot River.

UK
wine consultant Simon Field MW, a specialist on wines from the Loire in
France, where Chenin originates and the only foreign judge on the panel,
was impressed with the line-up of what he called very polished,
palatable and professional wines and their multiplicity of expression.
“A definitively South African Chenin style was apparent to me - riper,
more fruit-forward and floral, with qualities of nectarine and other
yellow fruit, some beeswax and honey. The whole experience gave me a
fascinating new perspective on Chenin.”

Pointing to the
availability of Chenin excellence at accessible prices, Willie du
Plessis, Standard Bank SA's executive head of business banking for the
Western Cape, noted that the average price of the top 10 wines was R200.
“These world-class wines offer outstanding value, with winners retailing
at R70, R90, R120 before rising to the highest price of R375.”

He confirmed a prize of R25 000 for each of the winning wines. The money
would need "to reinforce economic and social benefits in the workplace",
in accordance with the conditions of the challenge. "We believe the
honour of making it onto the Top Ten list should extend to the workers
as well as the brand owners.”

Spier has
featured amongst the Top Ten every year since the inception of the
challenge in 2014 and DeMorgenzon, every year since 2015. Stellenrust
has been in the line-up every year since 2014, with the exception of
2016. This year marks the third time Leopard’s Leap has appeared.